Lightroom vs Photoshop Cs2

Shooting in macro mode, techniques, tips & tricks
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Steve Levinson

Lightroom vs Photoshop Cs2

Post by Steve Levinson »

I am doing macro photography, using this for more "artistic" work than scientific. Shooting with a Nikon D80 and a Nikon VR 105 mm lens (dont use VR when shooting macro). I shoot raw.

I am importing photos into Lightroom, then transferring to Photoshop CS2 for sharpening, soft proofing and some other minor manipulations. Then transfer back into Lightroom and print on Epson 2200 printer at 13x19 inches.

I am very interested in purchasing one of your Helicon Focus products, but have a couple of questions:

1. What do I loose by not purchasing the "pro version"?
2. Can I still import into Lightroom, or do I simply import all of the "stacks" into Photoshop, run your program to compress to one great shot, then store on hard disk, import into light room then and follow my usual process?
3. If I buy a one year program, how much does it cost to upgrade to "forever" if I like it?

Appreciate your comments.
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Ariel
Posts: 115
Joined: 26.10.2006 06:05

Post by Ariel »

1. In the Lite version, you don't get the retouching filters (which can help if you need to manually brush-in any area from one of the photos that wasn't merged properly). Also, if you get the Pro MP version, if you have multiple processors (like core 2 duo) in your computer, the program can take advantage of this and speed up the process.

2. You use the interface in Helicon Focus to select the photos (directly from the hard drive) you want to merge. (If you use Lightroom to download photos from the camera to the computer, you can still use it, but you then use Focus to brows the hard drive for each individual photo.) You can use Photoshop to edit the photo afterwards.

3. I think you can simply pay the difference to upgrade from a 1 yr license to an unlimited license. Also, there is/was some sale going on and I don't know how that plays into that.
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